Yorkshire mayors to begin new devolution talks this year

Mayors in South and West Yorkshire will begin talks for new advanced devolution deals this year, The Yorkshire Post can reveal, as the Government is set to press ahead with a combined authority for East Yorkshire and Hull.

It is understood both Oliver Coppard and Tracy Brabin will be invited to start negotiations for more powers later this year, with sources confident they will be offered similar deals to both Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

The Chancellor on Wednesday confirmed that both Andy Burnham and Andy Street, the Manchester and West Midlands mayors, will receive next-generation deals as part of their “trailblazer” programmes, with other combined authorities set to follow this blueprint.

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These new powers included a flexible single pot of funding, 100 per cent retention of business rates, as well as further powers over transport, housing, skills and technical education, as The Yorkshire Post revealed last month.

Michael Gove is set to meet metro mayors next week where they are expected to raise the prospect of further powers before formal negotiations begin later this year.Michael Gove is set to meet metro mayors next week where they are expected to raise the prospect of further powers before formal negotiations begin later this year.
Michael Gove is set to meet metro mayors next week where they are expected to raise the prospect of further powers before formal negotiations begin later this year.

Further powers over transport, in addition to a pot of over £8 billion of funding in the budget, could also provide Leeds with its mass transit system that local leaders have been demanding for decades.

Meanwhile the ability to retain business rates is among the most desired powers for South Yorkshire, with the Treasury set to expand retention to more councils in the next Parliament, along with further reforms to local government finance such as council tax.

Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary is set to meet with the M10 group of Metro Mayors next week, including Labour’s Mr Coppard and Ms Brabin, where it is expected they will raise the prospect of more devolved powers.

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It comes after Jeremy Hunt unveiled around £250 million of investment for Yorkshire in his budget, including two Investment Zones.

In addition, Mr Hunt’s budget said that the Government will seek to sign a “new wave” of devolution deals for areas that do not already have an elected mayor or combined authority this year.

This will include Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, along with other areas named in last year’s Levelling Up White Paper.

Last month during a visit to Hull, Dehenna Davidson, a levelling up minister who is from Sheffield, confirmed that she wanted to see a deal agreed soon, and met with the region’s two council leaders to pass on their proposals for a combined authority without a mayor.

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The Government is understood to be offering regions an investment fund if they commit to a directly elected mayor. Liverpool’s devolution deal included a £900 million investment fund over 30 years.

"Devolution deals have been agreed across the whole of Yorkshire except here so this really is the last piece in the jigsaw,” she said.

The Humber is also set for a freeport to be agreed by officials within days, with the business case in the “final stages of government approval”.

A devolution deal for North Yorkshire was signed last year, with the new council to launch next month and elections for the region’s new mayor likely to be held next year.

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Ms Brabin told The Yorkshire Post: “We want more control over our skills and transport funding to help grow our economy and improve the lives of people across West Yorkshire, and I have been making the case to government for extra powers for our region ever since I came into office.”

Mr Coppard added: “We have deep-rooted regional inequalities that have real life consequences: from broken public transport to shorter life expectancy.

“Those problems have been entrenched for over forty years, so we all know the government can’t solve them from 200 miles away.

“I look forward to working with the government to agree a new devolution settlement that gives us that chance.”

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However, Nick Fletcher, the Tory MP for Don Valley said that these new powers would be a “disaster” for the region, arguing that local mayors did not use their powers to save Doncaster Sheffield airport, which he said had closed due to “green mania”.

It comes after he called for the mayor’s devolved powers to be given back to the Government.

“Giving powers to local people sounds great. But look at what’s happened to us,” he said.

It comes as Rishi Sunak seeks to regain lost ground in Red Wall and northern seats following Labour’s surge in the polls under Liz Truss.

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Polling before the budget suggested that the Conservatives would lose every seat in the Red Wall, with Labour holding a poll lead of around 20 points.

However Mr Sunak’s personal polling has jumped 17 points in a month, suggesting voters in the North are warming to the Prime Minister as the country moves closer to next year’s election.